1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a headgear holder attached to an embroidering machine when embroidery is sewn on a headgear such as a cap.
2 Description of the Related Art
A multi-head embroidering machine has conventionally been provided which comprises a plurality of embroidering machine units disposed on a base frame lengthwise with respect to the base frame, a moving frame movable in an X direction (right-to-left) perpendicular to sewing-bed arms of the respective embroidering machine units and in a Y direction (front-to-back) parallel to the sewing-bed arms, and embroidery frames detachably attached to the moving frames to correspond to the respective embroidering machine units. Further, various types of headgear holders have been provided which are detachably attached to each embroidering machine unit of the multi-head embroidering machine in order that embroidery may be formed on a headgear such as a cap.
The headgear holder generally comprises a guide shaft having a proximal end fixed to the body of the embroidering machine unit and extending forward along the sewing-bed arm, a base frame supported on the guide shaft so as to be movable forward and backward, a ring-shaped rotating frame rotatably supported on the base frame, and a headgear holding member detachably attached to the rotating frame. The base frame is connected via a connecting mechanism to the moving frame so as to be moved with the movable frame forward and backward. The headgear holder further comprises a rotating mechanism converting right-to-left movement of the moving frame to rotation of the rotatable frame. The headgear holding member is moved forward and backward and rotated about an axis extending forward and backward.
The prior art has provided a headgear holder in which a pair of headgear support plates disposed inside the headgear attached to the headgear holding member to support the headgear are provided in front of the rotating frame and near the sewing-bed arm in order that a high quality of embroidery may be formed on the headgear. The headgear support plates are disposed at right-hand and left-hand sides of the sewing-bed arm over the latter respectively so that a space is defined therebetween so as to correspond to a needle hole of the sewing-bed arm. The headgear support plates are connected, for example, at their proximal ends, to each other and also connected to distal or front ends of a pair of support bars connected to the base frame respectively.
The support bars are connected to the base frame so that positions of the support bars are vertically adjustable. Accordingly, the vertical positions of the support bars are suitably adjusted so that the headgear support plates are moved to positions where they do not interfere with the sewing-bed arm. Further, the headgear support plates are connected to the distal ends of the support bars respectively so that the front-to-back positions of the headgear supports are adjustable. As a result, the front-to-back positions of the headgear support plates can be adjusted according to the size and shape of a headgear on which embroidery is to be sewn. The above-described construction can ensure a high quality of embroidery to be sewn on the headgear.
However, the pair of headgear support plates are formed integrally with each other in the above-described headgear holder. This means that the vertical positions and the front-to-back positions of the headgear support plates cannot be adjusted independently of the plates. For example, when there is an error in the dimensions of the paired headgear support plates, the vertical positions of both plates cannot be adjusted relative to the sewing-bed arm. This results in a problem that a high quality of embroidery to be sewn on a headgear cannot be ensured. On the other hand, when an accuracy in the dimensions of the headgear support plates is improved for prevention of the dimensional error, a manufacturing cost of the headgear holder is increased. Further, the headgear support plates cannot smoothly be moved vertically with the paired support bars nor moved forward and backward relative to the support bars. Consequently, it is difficult to adjust the vertical positions and front-to-back positions of the headgear support plates.